Jake Gyllenhaal plays an ambulance-chasing reporter in his new movie “Nightcrawler,” but he had no patience for real reporters at the film’s premiere in New York.
When asked if had any euphoric visions while fasting for the role, Gyllenhaal responded, "Really, man?"
Another reporter on the carpet asked Gyllenhaal about the strangest encounter he had had with a tabloid videographer (à la TMZ). “That question’s redundant. Next question,” the actor deadpanned
He was then asked if he noticed any subtle references to him in Taylor Swift’s new album
1989, released earlier that day. “Your questions are absurd,” Gyllenhaal snapped before his publicist let out a dramatic gasp, shook her head, and moved her client along the press line.
A few feet down, another reporter brought up Swift. Gyllenhaal bristled, staring blankly at the reporter for a moment before sidestepping to the next one.
Timeline
Taylor and Jake were first seen together publicly in late October 2010. A source told
Us Weekly: "The relationship is very new, maybe two or three weeks old. They’re both into it." Gyllenhaal was said to have initiated the relationship, emailing Swift to tell her of his admiration for her talent.
Apple picking in upstate New York
Fishkill Farms, NYThey were spotted at the Fishkill Farms in Hopewell Junction, N.Y on October 23, where they toured fall foliage and went apple-picking. An onlooker told
Us Weekly: "They were walking through the trees, having fun together. They looked happy. Some of the customers tried to take a photo of them, but they were hiding from them in the trees. They drove through the orchard and bought the apples on the way out." Gyllenhaal, 29, paid the $3 tab.
In the audience of Emma Stone's SNL episode
Emma Stone, during her SNL monologue in 2010Later that evening, the pair attended the broadcast of Saturday Night Live in Manhattan, which was hosted by Swift's good friend, Emma Stone. According to a
PEOPLE source, "They showed up together. They walked around together backstage, but they were careful not to be seen too close. It was hard to tell if they were together, but everyone was shocked that she brought him."
Meanwhile, an eyewitness told
Us Weekly: "Swift initially sat down with her bodyguard, but after the lights dimmed, he got up and Gyllenhaal occupied the seat. They chatted a lot, but no kissing or hand holding or anything affectionate."
Sources at SNL told
Lainey Gossip: "She was totally into him. They were close the whole time, and awkwardly cute-flirting, some undercover handholding ... It was more than just friends." Added Lainey: "As you can imagine, she was beyond delirious. I’m told she looked like she was dreaming while she was there. And they left together."
Brooklyn brunch with friends including Emma Stone
On Sunday October 24, Swift, 20 and Gyllenhaal, 29, brunched with Emma Stone and another guest at Al Di La in Brooklyn and, said a
Us Weekly source, looked "friendly." According to
E! Online's Ted Casablanca: "They sat side-by-side the whole time. Taylor, who was sporting some heavy makeup and looking rather stiff and uncomfortable in the Brooklyn hot spot, managed to throw in a few smiles and laughs. Jake played the cool, older guy as he chatted with the waiters and couldn't stop smiling. Plus, our sources say he was looking super hot and proud of himself in his classic V-neck and sleek aviators." They were also spotted together strolling around Brooklyn's Park Slope neighbourhood.
Jake meets Taylor's mother
Taylor Swift filming her NBC special on October 25On October 25, Gyllenhaal accompanied Swift to a taping of an NBC Thanksgiving special. He spent time in Swift's dressing room with the singer and her mother.
Weekend break in Big Sur and Santa Barbara, California
They stayed at the exclusive Post Ranch Inn in Big SurFrom October 29 to November 1 the couple stayed at the exclusive Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California. According to
PEOPLE, "they spent most of their time in their room - the most expensive one in the hotel, with a fireplace and ocean view-they did step out for a romantic dinner at Sierra Mar. They were very cute. They looked happy."
An onlooker told
Lainey Gossip that the couple "were seen together over breakfast and also by the pool. Swifty was wearing a beret. There was some handholding and their arms were around each other and she was touching his hair and getting lost in his cute ass amazing face."
Us Weekly's witness saw the couple at the hotel's pool: "Taylor laughed at everything Jake said. At one point, she measured herself against Jake on her tiptoes." (An observer added that Gyllenhaal "held her hand.")
Late on Monday November 1, the couple arrived in Santa Barbara, stopping for ice cream upon arrival. They came in [Monday]," an employee of McConnell's Ice Cream told
E! Online. "There were young customers in here, and our girls who worked here are young and they recognized them right away. Everyone was excited and asked to take pictures with them, which they obliged to do. Taylor got a suggestion from one of our workers. They were very nice and seemed comfortable around each other. They weren't lovey-dovey though."
Us Weekly reported: ""They looked at all the flavors and couldn't decide, so they asked the counter girls for help," a staffer says of the duo, who were "happy" and "friendly." "Taylor was very interested in what I was doing in the back making ice cream and said, 'Wow, you guys are legit!'" Their ice cream picks, which Gyllenhaal paid for: Swiss chocolate chip for him, yogurt with rainbow sprinkles for her. After savoring their treats inside McConnell's for about 20 minutes, the pair split. When they were approached by excited college-age fans in the parking lot, they "happily obliged" for photos. "They smiled a ton!"
Minibreak in London; dinner at the Paltrow-Martins
On November 11, Swift jetted from Nashville to London and promptly holed up at the five-star Dorchester Hotel. Gyllenhaal, in town to promote Love and Other Drugs, was staying at the same hotel. Said a
Us Weekly source: “It was a secret. Taylor came early to be with Jake [before her promotional duties.] It was a love-in!” The tryst marked the fourth weekend in a row they spent together. According to
Us Weekly, Swift’s arrival in London was so stealth even members of her own camp hadn’t heard about the last-minute itinerary change. Neither ventured outside the luxe hotel, and on November 12, Swift ordered in Chinese food. “It was enough for two or three people!” says a hotel source. Not even staffers caught a glimpse of them together before Gyllenhaal left for NYC November 13 (Swift flew to Japan the next day). But the romance is definitely heating up. “He’s crushing on her,” said a Gyllenhaal source. And Swift, said an insider, is “excited. She wants it to be official.”
During the trip, the pair "were driven from the Dorchester Hotel to Gwyneth and Chris Martin's house in Primrose Hill for dinner. Gwyneth seems to have played a role in their relationship." When
USA Today later asked Paltrow about the intimate gathering with Gyllenhaal, 30, and Swift, 21, the actress initially tried to play coy. "Where is this coming from?" she asked, adding that she's "scared to say" much about the couple's blossoming romance. "It's so weird. I wonder how people find out these things. It was a while ago, so I don't know why it would come out today. I've just known Jake for a long time and he's a great guy, and Chris has a friendship with Taylor."
Thanksgiving with Jake at his sister's house in Brooklyn
On November 25, Swift celebrated Thanksgiving with Gyllenhaal's extended family in Brooklyn, New York. Around 10:30 a.m., the pair popped into Park Slope's Gorilla Coffee for specialty maple lattes, made with pure Vermont syrup. "They were really sweet, really really sweet," said a source at the shop, adding that the duo also tipped well. "Taylor sipped Jake's maple lattee to try it and was giggling a lot. She looked like a high school girl in love for the first time. Jake was smiling at her the whole time. It was kind of sweet to watch. Jake is usually not chatty when he comes in, but with Taylor he was talking and laughing the entire time." They then stopped off at Union Market for last-minute Thanksgiving supplies. An onlooker said they were like "love-struck teens ... They seemed very comfortable together."
A source told
Us Weekly that Swift arrived in New York on Thanksgiving eve: "Jake invited her to New York for Thanksgiving. It wasn't planned in advance, but she said, 'Why not? I can do it, and I'm going.' Her parents weren't thrilled, but she explained to them that she gets to see them all the time and wasn't able to spend much time with Jake during the publicity madness. She loves his family and he loves hers. There was no diva behavior. She pitched in to cook and to clear the dishes. She also seemed very interested in the family and asked them a lot of questions about themselves."
Visiting Taylor's extended family in St. Louis, Missouri
Jake and Taylor in St. Louis with a relative of Taylor'sThe couple then travelled to St. Louis on Taylor's private jet to spend time with her extended family. Before Thanksgiving, Swift had told reporters she planned to spend the holiday in St Louis: "I have a big family there and most of them are women so we'll all crowd in the kitchen and make things and tell stories and laugh. It's a good time."
Jake spends time in Nashville
Ordering breakfast at Fido, Nashville on November 27On November 27, the couple resurfaced in Swift's adopted hometown of Nashville, where they were spotted getting a late breakfast at Fido. "They were smiling and laughing. They were talking a lot and enjoying each other's company," a diner named Elaina Mishu told
PEOPLE. "They didn't look like friends." Customer Emma Rice, who snapped a photo of the pair, called the duo "very cute" and said, "They seemed close. They were not trying to be discreet by any means. They were definitely a couple. They looked very happy."
Later that day, they visited the Gaylord Opryland to look at the Christmas decorations and the Garden Conservatory. "She stayed close to him the entire time," an eyewitness told
Us Weekly. That night, Gyllenhaal was spotted making a solo Whole Foods run.
On November 29, they dined at Crema in Nashville. "They ordered two coffees at the counter. When they sat down, they stayed very close to one another and held hands for a second. They were just sitting there for about half an hour in really deep conversation. And when they were leaving, Taylor cleaned up the mess on the table. She seemed very nice!"
At Frothy Monkey, Nashville on November 30On November 30, they stopped by Nashville's Frothy Monkey for coffee, with a source telling
TMZ that the couple had visited the cafe for "several" consecutive mornings. An onlooker told
Us Weekly: "She had her arm around his, and when they left they were holding hands." That night, they stopped by CityHouse for dinner.
Taylor visits Jake in LA; Jake calls cops on paparazzi
As soon as she landed in L.A. in a private jet on December 8, Swift hightailed it to Gyllenhaal's Hollywood Hills home. The next day, the pair were spotted out on afternoon drive around town. As Gyllenhaal navigated his Audi, he also made an effort to amuse his date. "Jake and Taylor seemed to be catching up and were chatting nonstop in the car," an onlooker told
PEOPLE. "Jake was making Taylor laugh and she looked very happy."
However, later that afternoon, an angry Gyllenhaal called the police because of the paparazzi's dangerous driving. The couple was being followed while driving through a residential neighborhood in Beverly Hills. “This was scary,” a source close to Gyllenhaal told
Gossip Cop. “This was not about a celebrity saying, ‘Don’t follow me,’” said the insider, adding that Gyllenhaal and Swift “felt they were in jeopardy.” But it wasn’t just Swift’s safety and his own that Gyllenhaal was concerned about. “There were people on the sidewalk, families” in the neighborhood who could have potentially been injured.
“It was really dangerous,” reiterated the source, who said the police stopped six paparazzi cars that were right on Gyllenhaal’s car. Unfortunately, after Gyllenhaal drove on, there were four more paparazzi cars – out of the police’s view – who still followed the couple.
Swift and Gyllenhaal were both spotted wearing pink plastic bracelets during the period, with Gyllenhaal revealing in an interview that it had been given to him by his niece, Ramona.
Gyllenhaal was also photographed wearing a scarf, identical to one previously worn by Swift.
Split announced in January 2011
News of a split broke in early January 2011. "Jake reached out to her and started all of this, but now he’s not acting as interested,” a source explained to Us Weekly about the breakup, which reportedly occurred right before New Year’s. “He said he wasn’t feeling it anymore and was uncomfortable with all the attention they got. Taylor is really upset. We told her not to move so fast with this, but she didn’t listen.”
“Jake cares about her, but [the publicity] was a lot for him,” the source said. “He wants to keep his private life private, and that’s hard to do dating Taylor. Jake just told her it wasn't working out. Taylor is really upset and hurt. She doesn't know what she did for him to put a stop to it. She feels really burned by him."
Jake visits Taylor in Nashville
On January 19, Swift and Gyllenhaal arrived quietly together at Bound'ry, a restaurant near Swift's Nashville condo, and were led back to a table for two, according to another patron.
"They did eat," the patron told
PEOPLE. "They were cordial to one another, but not affectionate."
And another source told
PEOPLE that they seemed friendly. "There was no holding hands, but they seemed happy together," the source says. "They sat next to the fireplace just chatting away."
Intense discussion at Vanity Fair Oscar party
On February 27, Swift attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party with pals Emma Stone and Ashley Avignone. During the event, Swift and Gyllenhaal were seen "outside near the restroom having a discussion. It seemed a bit more serious – it certainly wasn't a 'Hi, how are you?' talk. It seemed like they were catching up, sorting something out."
A
Washington Post reporter seated near Gyllenhaal and Swift remarked: ""Gyllenhaal is using words like 'care' and 'feel'. It is not a good spot to linger."
Reconciliation
In late 2013, Swift shared: “I heard from the guy that most of 'Red' is about. He was like, ‘I just listened to the album, and that was a really bittersweet experience for me. It was like going through a photo album.’ That was nice."
Maggie Gyllenhaal was asked in another 2013 interview if her brother was the subject of 'Red': "Y’know, I have no information on whether that’s happened or not but I think it’s kind of amazing to have a big pop song written about you, right?! As far as I know, nobody’s written any about me!"